Normal is Overrated
by TripOverFlatSurfaces
Summary: Good, normal days never meant well. Ever. That was basically the logic by which his everyday life functioned.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Normal Is Overrated  
><strong>Author: <strong>TripOverFlatSurfaces  
><strong>Rating: <strong>T  
><strong>Summary: <strong>Good, normal days never meant well. Ever. That was basically the logic by which his everyday life functioned.  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>Language. No major spoilers.  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! as it is the property of Akira Amano.

**A/N:** This just sort of hit me one day. Ah, the wonders of daydreaming…

* * *

><p>"Tsu-kun! Breakfast is ready!"<p>

A yawning mass of spiky brown hair emerged from the beneath the tangled bed sheets, smacking his lips blearily. "Coming Mama!" he yelled back, grimacing at the taste of his breath. After stretching luxuriously and feeling that he had definitely forgotten something, Tsuna checked his clock, still half-asleep. _7:00 A.M_. Oh, well that was ni—

"EHHHH?" _THUD._ In his haste to grab the alarm clock, Tsuna had fallen out of the bed face-first into the floor. "Owowowow…" Scrambling back to his feet, he checked the clock again. And again. And again. And one more time just to make sure. Tsuna pinched himself. Was he dreaming? Yet time stayed where it was. _7:00 A.M._ He pinched himself harder, until tears leaked out from the pain. Nope, he felt that.

"I-I'm early. N-No way…"

"Tsu-kun! Hurry, your food will get cold!"

"J-Just one second!"

Today was a good day.

So good, in fact, that it was downright suspicious. Reborn hadn't woken him up 'Vongola-style', nobody stole his food at breakfast, and he had gotten to school _on time_. Had the aliens abducted him overnight? It was rare—no, _impossible_—for the one and only dame-Tsuna to be able to do that. And any remaining sliver of a chance he had left disappeared with Reborn's arrival. The teachers practically gave themselves heart attacks when he made a fifty on the quiz they had the day before. Gym wasn't the pit of hell it usually was either. Tsuna had only tripped over a rock this time instead of air.

So, all in all, a good day. Right. Since when did Sawada Tsunayoshi have good days? A normal life for him probably bored whatever gods up there into inexistence.

That was probably why, the minute Tsuna got home, Lambo came running down the hall. "BAKA-TSUNA! COME PLAY WITH THE GREAT LAMBO-SAMA!"

A kid so energetic wasn't good for anyone's health. "Lambo! Don't run in the house, you'll tr—"

Lambo's foot slipped on a conveniently placed banana peel—"HOW DID THAT GET THERE?"—and smacked onto the floor with a thud. Of course, ending the entire fiasco right there wasn't an option apparently. The fall knocked loose the Ten-Year Bazooka, and the last thing Tsuna saw was purple.

~o~o~o~o~o~

"—ay? Kid! Come on, are you alive or not?"

Someone was shaking him roughly by the shoulder. Couldn't they tell he wanted to sleep? Reborn was one thing, but having another person be so inconsiderate was too much. It was such a nice dream, and oh! There goes a flying sausage! Come to think of it, he _was_ rather hungry. Mm, maybe he should ask Mama to make steak some time? It was really hard to get a decent meal these days… What would steak look like with wings anyway? Maybe like a bird, but Hibari's bird was a yellow puffball so they didn't compare that well. Ah, a cow then…?

"Oi! You— WAKE UP ALREADY!"

Grumbling mentally to himself, Tsuna groggily peeled his eyes open, looking straight into the face of a policeman.

"HIIEEEE!" He scrambled backwards, right into a signpost. _'Ah, that hurt…'_

"Hey, calm down. Are you alright?" The police officer was middle-aged with a few wrinkles lining his forehead and creasing around his mouth. He looked faintly irritated. Tsuna gulped.

"Yes?" he squeaked out. The man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Alright, look. I'll get straight to the point. What in the world are you doing, lying out sleeping in the streets? You're a, what, elementary school student? So—"

Tsuna interrupted, feeling like he'd made the wrong choice the minute he opened his mouth as the policeman glowered. "U-Um, I'm in m-middle sc-school …" He stared in morbid fascination as the man developed a twitch. Tsuna felt like crying.

"Middle school, elementary school, I really don't care. Now, why aren't you in school?"

'_Shit,'_ Tsuna started to sweat. "Um, I, well, um…." Tsuna's eyes darted about frantically, desperately trying to find an escape. "I-I…" There was a break in the continuity of buildings, one that stared out at him from behind the officer's shoulder.

"Yes, young man? I'm listening."

"Um, I…" He discreetly shifted to a better position and tensed his muscles in preparation.

"Yes?"

"I…" The policeman leaned forward in expectation.

"IGOTTAGOBYE!" He dashed past the man and dove into the alleyway, unmindful of the trash that littered the ground. _Oh _god_, something just squished—_ Crap, it was a dead end. The shrill police whistle sounded. Chancing to look back, he nearly shrieked in terror as he saw the police officer gain on him. Quickly turning to face the front again, he spotted a couple of trash bins near the brick wall at the end of the alley. Scrambling up on one, he did an awe-inspiring rendition of a flopping fish as he struggled to climb over the wall. Yet somehow, it was accomplished and a dull thump signaled his landing; to think that, a few years ago, any attempts would have ended with the trash bin. It was times like these that Tsuna felt he could kiss the ground that sadistic baby walked on.

"WAIT! COME BACK HERE!" Wheezing, the officer stopped and glared at the wall as if he could see the person on the other side. The glare melted away as his shoulders slumped down tiredly. Retirement was feeling farther and farther away every day. "Kids these days…"

Aforementioned 'kid', on the other hand, kept running until he reached a crowded shopping area before collapsing down on a bench, gasping for breath. He checked about discreetly to see if anyone had noticed his magnificent escape out into the street. Everybody was too busy being concerned about their own lives. A great whoosh of breath issued forth. Never again, he vowed, _never again_. Staring out into space, Tsuna groaned and dropped his head into his hands. He could just imagine what Reborn would say about this. He'd probably turn it into a life lesson or something mafia-related.

'_Dame-Tsuna, this is good practice. All mafia bosses have run-ins with the police at some point in their lives. If they don't, they're either pathetic or dead. You wouldn't want to be like that, would you? Dame-Tsuna.'_ Cue smirk and more training.

"Stupid Reborn…" He sighed again. Why did life see fit to torture him so? It was weird that he was sleeping on the street, and then the incident with the policeman... He was dreaming about Mama's steak before that guy woke him up, wasn't he? Speaking of which, he'd better go home soon, before They ate all of his dinner. Seriously, those two just couldn't control themselves, that Reborn and Lam— _Wait a minute._ Lambo! And the bazooka, he tripped, the banana peel…

Tsuna-goo dripped off the bench onto the ground in depression. Of course, the Ten-Year Bazooka! How could he have not remembered the purple doom that flew through the air towards him? '_Argh, I feel like such an idiot!'_ Wonderful, so he was now ten-years in the future and more than five minutes had surely passed. Again. Wasn't once enough? …He knew this day was too good to be true. As if life hadn't thrown enough problems at him already, his stomach took the chance to loudly announce to everybody that it was empty.

"Kaa-chan, does he have a monster in his tummy?" Nope, just very hungry.

"Now, now, darling. Don't stare at the strange boy." He thought he was pretty normal-looking actually…

"Haha, such a pathetic looking kid. He's probably skipping school." _Stab._

"Ya think he's homeless, Itsuki? Lookin' pretty shabby there." _Stab._

"Mi-na-mi! Don't get so close to him! You don't have time to take pity on the poor. Geez, go to a charity later if you're that concerned." _**Stab.**_

All the comments were like sharp knives to his already tiny pride. '_H-How cruel…'_ His stomach growled again, and with the newfound hunger pangs gnawed relentlessly.

"Nngh, it hurts...Ah, so huuuungrrrrry…" Where the heck was he going to get food anyway? It wasn't like he had any money. Curling up in a corner and giving up was looking more and more appealing. Why couldn't the bazooka have hit him after dinner? Steak, he wanted steak…

"I guess I'd better check things out," he mumbled to himself in an attempt to take his mind off of food. "What would Gokudera-kun do…?" What _would_ he do? Probably scope out the area and get more information. Sometimes, Tsuna vaguely, kind-of-sort-of wished that Gokudera was the boss; he was certainly more suited to the mafia as it was. But then the world would be overrun by UMAs and it would probably explode from excess amounts of dynamite…

…Disturbing thoughts aside, newspapers seemed like a likely choice. Very…logical. Something Gokudera would suggest, right? Right? Tsuna sighed. He wondered if he'd ever see Gokudera again. If he was really stuck here, then he would never hear Gokudera's enthusiastic greetings again, or see Yamamoto's bright smile and eat his delicious sushi, or talk to Kyoko, or even laugh with everybody again. Even Reborn…

'_No! Stop thinking like that!'_ he scolded himself, smacking his cheeks for good measure and startling the passersby in his near vicinity. _'Getting depressed is the last thing you need!'_ So cheeks smarting, Tsuna stood up and made his way out into the crowd.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** …Well then. Four pages? That's a new record! Ah, so happy~ I certainly hope that at least somebody enjoyed this. The plot will probably make more sense in the next chapter. Ahaha, though that might be a little long in coming… ^^; Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Normal Is Overrated

**Author: **TripOverFlatSurfaces

**Rating: **T

**Summary: **Good, normal days never meant well. Ever. That was basically the logic by which his everyday life functioned.

**Warnings: **Language. No major spoilers.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! as it is the property of Akira Amano.

**A/N:** I'm so excited! I actually got reviews! Heehee, well to all those people who read, I hope you enjoy. Once again, no beta.

**Thanks to those who reviewed~:**The Neo Productions, Anime lover 3593

**Edit 3/16/12**: Fixed the number of years in the past Tsuna has been sent. I was thinking about it because someone said it confused them, as Tsuna would have been four years old had it been exactly ten years in the past. It just bothered me a lot, so I recalculated the possible ages Nana and Iemitsu would have been at Tsuna's birth.

* * *

><p>'Getting depressed is the last thing you need!'<p>

'_Well, that's what I said, bu_t…' Tsuna sighed again, the fifth time since about half an hour ago. How did it always come to this?

_He ambled a little aimlessly down the street, keeping his eye out for the tell-tale metal bins. _"Now where…?" _Tsuna looked about, turning his head this way and that, but there didn't seem to any newspaper stands he could see. Ah, there was one! He hurried toward it, focused on getting there and holding concrete proof in his hands that he was sent to the future (again). That one moment of inattention was undeniably fatal. The first sign: one minute he was half-jogging to buy a newspaper and the next, four thug-like guys stood over him._

"_Oi! The hell ya think ya are, bumpin' inta Koji like that!"_

"_Yeah, ya could've broken his arm! Whatcha gonna do about it, hah?" One of the four, the one with the edge of a tattoo creeping up the side of his neck, gestured roughly to his companions. By this point, most of the crowd had escaped. The sun hung at the horizon._

"_Hey, I think you really might have hurt me there. I'll probably have to go to hospital." The one with the slicked back bleached hair, Koji,__ ―__obviously the leader__― __smirked sleazily. Tsuna could almost imagine the oil dripping off of every word. "Say, how about you cough up my funds and maybe we'll forget all about this little incident, hm?"_

_Thug #3 cracked his knuckles loudly. Tsuna gulped. "Ah, but I don't h-have any money…" He backed up slowly, only to find Thug Number 2 blocking his way. _This felt rather familiar…

"_A shame you won't cooperate. Oi, grab him and take everything the little shit has!" Koji ordered and the others hastened to obey. Before Tsuna realized it, thick arms were restraining him and hands rifled through his pockets. Tsuna was very sharply reminded of the schoolyard bullies he used to have problems with until Gokudera more or less threatened to send them back to their maker. _

"_What the hell? The fucker really is piss-poor!" Thug #2 exclaimed as he held up all the money Tsuna had: 130 yen. A bead of sweat dripped down Tsuna's cheek. '_THAT'S WHY I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T HAVE ANTHING!' _he shrieked mentally. _'I'm going to die, I'm really going to die…'

"_Tch. If that's how it's going to be," the arms tightened, "then you leave me no choice." Koji sighed with feigned regret, casually placing a cigarette between his teeth and clicking a lighter. "We're already pretty frustrated as it is you understand." Smoke lazily curled up into the air. "No hard feelings? Not that you'll be feeling all that good…after we're done you!"_

_In retrospect, maybe walking would have been a better idea despite the extra 45 seconds it would have taken to reach the newspaper stand. The first punch sent explosions of color bursting before Tsuna's eyes. He gagged and tasted blood__―__he really hoped that wasn't a loose tooth__―__and he couldn't even fight back because he'd left his gloves at home. 'Once useless, always useless,' the snide little voice in his head (the one that sounded suspiciously like Reborn) mocked. _

_They simply left him sprawled on the ground and, adding insult to injury, threw his meager 130 yen back in his face, their laughter raucous as they sauntered away. After a while, he pushed himself up and dragged his body to the corner of a building, slumping down against the wall. His stomach grumbled again. "Oh, be quiet…" he mumbled half-heartedly._

He hadn't moved from the place since. '_What rotten luck.'_ His stomach groaned as if sensing his thoughts. Tsuna was starting to feel light-headed and dizzy, though truthfully, this wasn't any worse than what his demon of a tutor considered training. He sniffled a little. "WHY ME?" he wailed, pulling despairingly at handfuls of hair. He pointed accusingly towards the sky, "Why does this only ever happen to me? Are you having _fun_ torturing me? What did I do to deserve this? Did I brutally massacre fluffy bunnies or something in a past life? Is this some kind of sick cosmic joke? WHY DOES IT FEEL LIKE I'M IN A BADLY WRITTEN FANFICTION, DAMMIT!"

"E-Excuse me. Is this yours?" Tsuna froze. Red crept up from under his collar and his face flushed like a tomato. _'This is bad, someone saw! How embarrassing!'_ he panicked mentally._ 'Okay, okay, keep calm Tsuna. Calm… '_

"S- Sorry, what―what did you just say? Aha, ahahahahahaha…" he laughed nervously, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. A girl about his age stood in front of him and she too seemed rather unsure of how to act.

"Well, I saw those people throw this at you, so I just…" she colored a little. "Is this yours?" she asked again, gesturing to her left hand. _'Those people?'_ Tsuna stared up uncomprehendingly at her. _'What does she mea__―__oh.'_

"R-Right. Yeah, it's mine," he said gingerly taking back his 130 yen. He let a sheepish smile cross his face. "Thank you, um…" he trailed off awkwardly. "Who are you?"

"Eh?"

Tsuna abruptly realized how rude he sounded. "Ah, I'm sorry! Th-That was really rude, wasn't it? Since you're supposed to give your own name before asking someone else's and all… I didn't mean for it to come out like that, I swear…! Um, uh, well, I, um―" He cut off as he saw the girl's shoulders shaking. She was desperately trying to muffle her giggles behind her hand, but some still slipped out despite her best efforts.

"No, that's alright," she told him mirthfully once she had gotten ahold of herself, "I don't mind." She beamed widely at him and bowed politely. "My name is Takahashi Nanako, but you can call me Nana."

"N-Nice to meet you. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, but you can call me Tsuna―itte!" He tried to stand up and reciprocate her gesture, but in his haste had forgotten that he was still injured. How he had forgotten something like that he wasn't sure, but the pain his bruises were causing him was rather difficult to ignore. _'No, it's okay, you've been through worse.' _Tsuna grimaced. _'Ah, but it still hurts…'_

"Are you alright?" Nana rushed to his side, sounding frantic.

"I'm fine," he assured her, "They're just bruises, that's all."

She frowned and furrowed her eyebrows thoughtfully. "My house isn't too far from here. If it won't trouble you, I could patch you up," she offered. Her eyes looked at him hopefully.

Tsuna shifted. "I couldn't do that…"

"No really!" Nana gently grabbed his hand and tugged. "It's the least I could do for making you aggravate your wounds, right?" She stuck out the tip of her tongue playfully. At his still undecided look, her good cheer wavered. "Unless you don't want to…?"

"Ah, it's not that!" he hurried to reassure her. "It's just, is it okay for you bring a stranger like me home?" Even if _he_ did so on a semi-regular basis, due to his amazing ability to make friends after knowing the other person for less than ten minutes. Not that he was ever given much of a choice in the first place, since Reborn was involved…

"What do you mean? We're not strangers. You know my name and I know yours."

"That's not what I meant, exactly…" Tsuna couldn't believe this. The girl was honestly and genuinely confused. "I…" He floundered for words and―_his recent string of bad decisions was going to be the death of him someday_―made the mistake of sneaking a quick look at Nana to judge her reaction. What was he supposed to tell her when she looked like _that_? It was like―like kicking a puppy or something equally morally bankrupt. He gave up all together. "…never mind."

Nana perked right back up. "Okay! Like I said, my house is pretty close so you can hold out until then, right?" she asked as they started walking again. Tsuna nodded resignedly. At this, she continued to chatter as passed through the neighborhood. "I live with only my grandparents, but don't worry, they're really nice. You'll feel right at home, I promise!"

Tsuna tilted his head curiously. "What about your parents then?"

"Well, actually, my hometown is way out in the countryside―my family owns an apple orchard― but I managed to get accepted into the school here. I had to ride the train all by myself." She jokingly bragged, puffing up with mock pride.

"All by yourself?"

"Mhm. My parents couldn't spare enough time to bring me themselves. It happened to be picking season at that time too, so it was especially busy for them." Her smile turned wistful.

"Nana-chan…"

At Tsuna's voice, Nana snapped out of her reverie and quickly shook her head as if to clear it of depressing thoughts. "It's alright! Besides, look, we're here." Tsuna looked up and, sure enough, they stood in front of a white, nondescript house that looked like all the other houses in the neighborhood. Come on, don't be shy!" Nana exclaimed, practically dragging him towards the house.

"No, that's not really the problem here…" Tsuna half-heartedly mumbled while Nana swung the front door open.

"I'm home, Obaa-san, Ojii-san!"

"Ara, is that you Na-chan? And, oh my, you've brought a friend home!" An old woman hobbled into sight, squinting slightly over her wire-rimmed glasses. Tsuna smiled at her self-consciously. "Why, it's a handsome young man! Quick dear, come look! Na-chan's brought home a boy!"

Both Tsuna and Nana flushed, sputtering and making frantic gestures. "It's not like that―!" "Obaa-san! We're not―!"

"What's this I hear? Nana's brought home a boy?" A gruff voice boomed through the entranceway. "Well, where is he? I've got something to say to him." The old man had a tall, lean sort of figure with dark, deep set eyes that were currently boring into Tsuna the way a hawk watches its prey. "Are you that 'young man' my wife is talking about?" he inquired, his stare, if possible, becoming even more piercing. _He was always so unlucky_―Tsuna let out a pitiful squeak.

~o~o~o~o~o~

_Ten minutes of explanations and various apologies later..._

~o~o~o~o~o~

"If that was how it is, WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO EARLIER!" Kyousuke, as Nana's grandfather had been introduced ("Ojii-san, Obaa-san, this is Tsuna-kun. Tsuna-kun, these are my grandparents, Oeda Kyousuke and Oeda Mira."), roared, slapping Tsuna painfully on his back. It was like Ryohei all over again, except older and less boxing-oriented. And maybe calmer. Maybe.

Tsuna fell sideways off the couch he was seated on and smacked onto the floor, frozen stiff from the sudden shock of pain. "Dear," Mira cried out, "calm down, you're aggravating his wounds!" '_Yes_,' Tsuna thought as he stifled a pained sob, '_please calm down…_ '

"It's alright. He's a man isn't he? MEN CAN WITHSTAND ANYTHING, UNDERSTAND BOY?"

"Y-yes sir!"

"Ojii-san! Stop that, you're scaring him!" Nana pulled Tsuna up carefully, all while pinning her grandfather with an exasperated glare. "Tsuna-kun, does it hurt?" Tsuna shook his head hastily, already sweating bullets as Nana's grandfather stared at him intensely from behind her back. He could almost hear the thoughts that were going through the old man's head―'_It doesn't hurt at all! Men have bodies of steel!'_

"Are you sure? Because you don't look so we―"

Mira interrupted, perhaps sensing his distress. "Now, now, I'm sure that Tsunayoshi-kun is fine," she said to Nana before putting a placating hand on her husband's arm. "And you dear, please do remember that Tsunayoshi-kun _is_ injured."

"Yes, Obaa-san," Nana sighed, looking suitably chastised. Kyousuke simply grumbled and settled further back into the cushions of the couch.

"Saa," Mira began, clapping her hands together once everybody resituated themselves―Tsuna had perched himself carefully on one edge of the couch, making sure to put Nana between him and the old man― "I've been meaning to ask, Tsunayoshi-kun. Could it be that you've only recently moved here?" I don't think I've ever seen you around the neighborhood."

"That's right!" Nana exclaimed, eyes widening in realization. She promptly turned to him, "_Did_ you just move here?" Even Kyousuke leaned forward slightly in interest.

Tsuna fidgeted under the combined gazes of his hosts. "Eheh, something like that." _'Does traveling through time count?'_ he thought ruefully. Technically, it wasn't like he was lying, it was just― He abruptly smacked himself on the forehead.

"Ts-Tsuna-kun?"

He had forgotten. The entire reason he was in this mess in the first place, and he had completely forgotten. He wilted a little. '_Guess I really am Dame-Tsuna…'_

"Tsuna-kun, what's wrong? Are your injuries hurting again?" Tsuna shook his head.

"Actually, um…" How was he supposed put it without sounding like an idiot? He ran his hand through his hair fretfully, making it poof up more than it already did. Tsuna attempted to speak again. "I'm sorry if this sounds strange, butwhat'sthedate?" he asked in a sudden rush of words, as if letting out a breath he had been holding for some time.

Nana looked confused but answered anyway. "It's November 12, 19XX. Why, is something the matter?"

Tsuna froze.

~o~o~o~o~o~

"How is it, Giannini?" Reborn hopped onto the work table where the Ten-Year Bazooka was being fiddled over by the mechanic. His dark eyes surveyed the weapon quietly.

"Hmm, hard to say. It seems there is some foreign substance that shorted out part of the bazooka," Giannini answered, still examining the mechanical pieces. He turned to Lambo who was sitting on the floor drawing with crayons. "Lambo, what exactly happened to the Ten-Year Bazooka?"

"Eh, Lambo doesn't know. Maybe a glass of grape juice fell on it this morning?" Suddenly seeming to realize what he said, Lambo started sweating and quickly turned away from the other two in the room. "B-B-B-But it wasn't L-Lambo's fault or a-a-anything," he stuttered, before laughing obnoxiously. "Gyahahahahaha―GUPYA!"

"Stupid cow." Reborn stepped calmly off of Lambo, a clear footprint marking where he had kicked the cow-child.

Lambo sniffled, eyes watering. "To-ler-ate… WAAAHHH, DIE REBORN!" he finally wailed, pulling out his grenades from his afro. He threw four in Reborn's direction, only to have them reflected back by way of a Leon-bat. The momentum crashed him through the window―"GUPYA!"― and into the air, where the grenades promptly exploded, taking Lambo with them.

"Now that the annoyance is gone," Reborn turned back to Giannini, Leon transforming back and settling on his hat, "how long will it take to fix it?"

"It might take a while. I'm not sure exactly how to fix the damaged piece, since the legendary Ten-Year Bazooka is the only one of its kind." Giannini sighed. "Poor Juudaime-sama. He could be anywhere right now. I wonder if he's alright."

Reborn's gaze sharpened. "Anywhere?"

"Ah, yes. The mechanism that had been damaged is the component that controls the actual time-travel element of the Ten-Year Bazooka. Without it, the time period is not regulated, and therefore Juudaime-sama could be stuck in any era and stay there for any undetermined amount of time," the mechanic fretted. "Oh Reborn-san, what do we do?"

Reborn merely pulled his fedora down further over his face and stayed silent.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Tsuna continued to gape at Nana, a sense of horror growing deep in the pit of his stomach and threatening to completely overwhelm him. "I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely, "could you repeat that?"

Looking ever more confused than before, she did. Kyousuke and Mira looked on curiously. The old man moved to speak, but his wife hurriedly shushed him before he could say anything.

'_November 12, 19XX,'_ Tsuna repeated silently. _'That's…'_ he counted in his head, _'_twenty-something years_…in the PAST?'_

"HIIIIIIEEEEEEE!"

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><p>Okay, so this chapter sort of went crazy on its own. Like majorly. Seriously, if this could happen all the time…SEVEN PAGES! That makes me really happy. XD Anyway, on to other news, I didn't notice how I put Kyousuke and Mira as the names of the grandparents until after the fact (then was simply too lazy to go back and change it), and that particular combination is, well… If anybody does know, good for you; though a bit unnecessarily dramatic, it was…an interesting couple of episodes, to say the least.<p>

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please direct them to the little button labeled "Review" near the bottom of this page. Until Chapter 3~ :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Normal Is Overrated

**Author: **TripOverFlatSurfaces

**Rating: **T

**Summary: **Good, normal days never meant well. Ever. That was basically the logic by which his everyday life functioned.

**Warnings: **Language. No major spoilers.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! as it is the property of Akira Amano.

**Thanks to those who reviewed:** Sora no hono KHR, cael05, Vanilla Interlude

* * *

><p>"<em>Tsuna-kun! Tsuna-kun!" <em>

Tsuna became aware of a faint voice calling his name and the feeling of being gently shaken. "Five more minutes Mama," he slurred out, pulling the blanket higher. It was quite warm and comfortable and moving was not Something To Be Considered. He shifted though, to get into a more comfortable position, and in the process, something moist plopped down over his nose. Groggily reaching up a hand, he encountered a…towel?

'_A towel?'_ With great effort, Tsuna peeled his eyes open, slowly becoming aware of a dull ache settled inside his head. His vision blurred before refocusing on the concerned visage of a brown-haired girl.

"Tsuna-kun!" she exclaimed in obvious relief, "Thank goodness, you woke up." She gently took the towel off his face, and smoothed down some of his bangs.

"Nana-chan, what did I…?"

"You fainted, remember?"

"…Fainted? But I― HIEE!" Tsuna shot up into sitting position. _'T-Then it wasn't a dream?'_ He furiously ground the heels of his palms into his eyes, kept his eyes closed for ten more seconds, and opened them again. He could feel an impending migraine coming on. _'November 12, 19XX…_' Tsuna really felt like fainting again, if only just so he wouldn't have to deal with this anymore.

A hand lightly touched his arm, causing him to snap out of his self-induced cloud of misery. "You can talk about it if you want," Nana offered. "I don't mind, and it might make you feel better." Her eyes shined with genuine concern but she couldn't hide the spark of curiosity that appeared as well, one of which Tsuna immediately felt guilty for causing and the other which he didn't want to entertain any further.

In the end, he settled for shaking his head and giving her an apologetic smile. "No, it's nothing. I was just a little, um, tired. You know, because a lot of things happened yesterday, and I guess it all just caught up with me…?" he trailed off, not enjoying that he had to lie to the first person who had shown him kindness in this time period, but knowing that the truth was not something he could tell her. Yep, that would go over well; sorry but it seems that I'm from the future?

To his relief, Nana seemed to accept this answer and didn't push any further. "Alright then," she stretched as she stood up, "I'll go tell Obaa-san you're awake." The door swung shut gently behind her as she walked out, leaving Tsuna alone. He attempted to swing his legs over the side of the bed to stand up as well, but a wave of vertigo tilted the floor dangerously and he collapsed back onto the bed. He lay there staring up, listening to the faint murmuring of voices filtering through the cracks in the door.

'_This sucks,_' Tsuna mentally directed towards the white plaster of the ceiling. _'What am I going to do now…?'_ He frowned, puffing out his cheeks, and pushed the question from his mind. Maybe if he ignored it, the problem would go away. At least, it wouldn't do him any good to think about it at the moment. Instead, brown eyes traced the cracks age had wrought upon the ceiling idly. He was just in the middle of determining whether the odd shape in the far left corner of his vision was a rabbit or a hare―what was the difference?―when the door to the room creaked open and Nana's head popped in.

"Tsuna-kun, do you think you feel well enough to come down for dinner? And before you say anything," Tsuna closed his mouth, words dying on his lips, "Obaa-san said she would love to have you stay." He gave no immediate reply. Seeing his indecision, Nana opened the door further and let the smells from the kitchen waft in. 'Well?' her tilt of the head seemed to say.

In the end, his stomach decided for him, and Tsuna allowed Nana to pull him up from his temporary residency on the bed. The wave of vertigo hit again, but this time a hand was there to steady him, and so a painful reunion with the floorboards was narrowly avoided. Throwing a grateful look towards Nana, Tsuna made his way down the stairs by himself, though he never quite let go of the rail.

The delicious aroma from earlier really had not prepared Tsuna for how mouthwatering the sight of the food was. Although it was probably a trick of light, he thought he saw sparkles surrounding the table, and were those flowers in the background…? Snapping out of his food-induced daydreams, he realized that Kyousuke was already seated and Mira, seeing them, smiled and gestured excitedly for both he and Nana to sit down.

"Dinner is ready, dears," the old lady trilled cheerfully. As she was handing Tsuna his helping, she continued to beam merrily, to the point where it was starting to become highly disturbing. Giving her an uncertain smile, he accepted it and thanked her quietly. Now that everybody had been served, a silence seemed to fall over the table, and Nana's grandmother continued to produce sparkles so bright Tsuna was sure he would go blind if he stared at her for too long.

"Um, well, itadakimasu!" Nana exclaimed, trying to break the sudden strain in atmosphere.

"Itadakimasu!" Tsuna, Kyousuke, and Mira echoed after her. As everyone started to eat, the silence continued to persist, despite Nana's first attempt. Instead, it was Mira who finally said something.

"How are you feeling now, Tsunayoshi-kun?" she enquired. "You gave us quite a scare when you just collapsed like that."

"Ah, is…is that so? I'm feeling much better now," he replied awkwardly, "Thank you for taking care of me. I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble."

"Not at all! So, how does it taste?" she asked, making a vague gesture to the food, "Is it to your liking?"

"It's delicious," Tsuna told her truthfully. And it was. The only other food that had ever tasted so good before in his life was his mother's cooking. _'Actually, this tastes a lot like Mama's cooking now that I think about it…'_

If possible, Mira's smile grew brighter. "Is that so? That's good then."

"A-Ah." Tsuna eyed her warily between bites. "Eto…" he stopped, uncertain of how to phrase his question without sounding rude. He wanted to ask _'Why are you still staring at me?' _but he was pretty sure that was not the way to go. Unfortunately, the old lady did not seem to be able to miraculously read his mind.

"Yes?"

"It's, well, you see…y-you've been staring at me, so I was just wondering, um…"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry about that dear," she giggled, "I didn't mean to stare! I was just so happy that Nana has finally found a friend." She winked at him conspiratorially. "You're the first friend that she's brought home since she came here." Tsuna glanced at Nana, to see that she had a light dusting of pink highlighting her cheeks.

"I'm always telling Na-chan," the old lady continued, "that she needs to be more outgoing. You can't make friends if you don't _smile_ first!" Kyousuke nodded approvingly in the background. "I want her to be able to look back on her life," at this point Mira put her hands on her cheeks, much like how a schoolgirl would act, "and say 'Kyaa! What a wonderful life!'" There was something vaguely familiar about this conversation.

This time, Nana's cheeks flamed with embarrassment. "Obaa-san!" She glanced over at Tsuna meaningfully, "Don't do that, please." There was something definitely familiar about this conversation. Wasn't it exactly like the ones he always used to have with― He was brought out of his ponderings as Nana hurriedly changed the subject.

The rest of dinner progressed in a pleasant manner, and Tsuna was pretty sure that if he ate another bit, he'd explode. Eventually, after the dishes had been washed (something Nana and her grandmother had vehemently refused to let him help with, claiming guests shouldn't do such things) and put away, the entire group somehow migrated to the living room. Conversation flowed much easier than he expected. This family had the uncanny ability to make him feel much more comfortable than even being around Gokudera-kun or Yamamoto did. Much of what they talked about wasn't particularly personal, but Tsuna was dreading the start of _those_ questions.

"Tsuna-kun, you said you just moved here, right?"

It came.

"Where do you live?" Nana bit her lip, suddenly recognizing another problem, "Won't your guardians be worried?"

All the occupants of the room froze.

"Didn't think of that…" Kyousuke muttered over his wife's gasp of 'Oh my!'.

Tsuna sweat-dropped. "About that… Since I, er, moved here, I haven't really… I mean, there isn't…"

Nana's grandfather fixed him with bewildered glower. "You don't have a place to stay?"

'_Well, this trip wasn't exactly planned_,' Tsuna thought, rapidly acquiring a tick in his eyebrow. It was a good point though; he hadn't considered it before. Where was he going to stay? Camping out could be an option, but what if he got attacked by a bear? Or worse, what if he got hypothermia and _died_? '_I don't want that_!' Tsuna wailed in his head hysterically, already driving himself into a panic.

"―stay with us?" He blinked, realizing that he had missed something while immersed in his own horrified thoughts.

"Eh?" he asked intelligently. He thought he had heard wrong. Was Nana's grandmother really asking what he thought she was asking? Looking around, he saw Kyousuke nodding his head in agreement with his wife once again, though by the looks of it, Tsuna suspected it had less to do with personal opinion and more with how the old man didn't want to risk disagreeing with Mira. Nana, on the other hand, seemed rather happy.

She turned to Tsuna, eyes shining in excitement. "What do you think, Tsuna-kun? Do you want to stay with us? You can even enroll in my school!"

Her earnestness was ridiculously hard to refuse, Tsuna reflected as he, for the second time that day, succumbed to it and found himself agreeing with her before he even registered what he was saying. Still, it was worth seeing her smile, his own personal despair at his inability to resist notwithstanding.

"That's great!" Nana cheered. "We'll have so much fun, I just know it." She took a quick peek at the clock. "I guess we'll have to go get the forms tomorrow. It's too late now…" Disappointment was evident in her voice.

"Th-There's no need to hurry… I don't mind," Tsuna consoled. "Like you said, there's always tomorrow."

Nana laughed sheepishly, "You're right. No use rushing these things I gue—" she cut herself off with a yawn. Tsuna felt the urge to yawn as well crawl up his throat.

"My my, now if we have that all sorted out, isn't time for bed?" Mira clucked her tongue, "Na-chan, you still have school tomorrow."

"I'll be going to bed then," Nana stretched her arms above her head, standing up. She stifled another yawn. "Goodnight, Obaa-san, Ojii-sa—" she stopped, and Tsuna noticed that in the amount of time it had taken for the conversation to finish, her grandfather had already fallen asleep. Nana laughed softly under her breath. She caught Tsuna's eye and smiled. "Goodnight, Tsuna-kun," she said, and then made her way up to her room.

"Sweet dreams, Na-chan," Mira called after her, Tsuna echoing the sentiment. The old grandmother then made to wake her husband, but he only muttered under his breath and settled deeper into the couch cushions. Shaking her head in fond exasperation, she slowly rose to her feet and turned to Tsuna. "Come with me please," she requested in a hushed whisper and put a hand on his arm. Getting up, he followed her as she walked into a room. Mira quickly shuffled over to a wooden dresser and opened a drawer to rifle through the contents. Tsuna lingered by the doorway, only going in when the old woman looked up, and seeing that he wasn't beside her, beckoned for him to come closer.

He blinked as a bundle of clothes was plopped into his arms. Tsuna looked up questioningly. "This is…"

Mira continued rummaging through the drawers. "I assume that since you have no place to stay, the only things you own right now are the clothes on your back." She shook out a shirt, and held it up contemplatively. "So please borrow these, and we'll go shopping later, okay?" She deposited the shirt happily onto the bundle.

Tsuna's eyes widened, and shook his head frantically. "I can't accept this…!" He tried to return the clothing, but Mira only firmly pushed them back into his arms.

"I insist, Tsunayoshi-kun. Go on to bed now. Do you remember where the guest room is? It's that room we put you in after you fainted." At his wince, she patted his cheek, "Now, now, don't be like that. Go on. Growing boys and girls need their sleep!"

Tsuna opened his mouth to protest again, but thought better of it. "Thank you, Oeda-san."

"No need to be so formal, call me Obaa-san!"

"Then, thank you...Obaa-san."

Mira smiled gently. "Goodnight, Tsunayoshi-kun."

~o~o~o~o~o~

After finally coaxing her husband awake and leading him to bed, the old grandmother shuffled over to the window to close the blinds but paused to gaze at the dark sky, devoid of anything but the tiniest sliver of a moon. She rested her fingertips against the cool glass and simply stood there.

"Tsunayoshi-kun…I wonder if it was fate that brought you to us? I've never seen Na-chan look so happy..."

'_Kami-sama, if nothing else, please let Na-chan keep that smile on her face for as long as she lives.'_

* * *

><p>AN: Yay, Chapter 3 finished~! I need to write with less procrastination~! *sobs* ;_; Anyhow, maybe Chapter 4 will go better. Iemitsu will probably appear then… Since Iemitsu is not that common of a name (I think), will Tsuna recognize him? The answer is: Most likely not. Hyper Intuition aside, if he hasn't recognized his mother, he won't recognize his father who is never around. Haha, well, please review and I hope you continue reading!

(The following is for Vanilla Interlude, to whom I apologize. I was not able to include another 'current time flashback', as you termed it, in this chapter. SO IT WILL APPEAR IN THIS OMAKE!)

OMAKE START!

Once upon a time, there was a pleasant town in Japan called Namimori. In this town of Namimori, there lived a boy named Gokudera Hayato, who was very loyal to his friend, Sawada Tsunayoshi-The-Tenth. Every day, he would go to his house in the morning to pick him up for school. Today was one such day.

"Good morning, illustrious mother of Juudaime! I have come to escort him to school!"

"Good morning to you too, Hayato-kun! But I'm afraid Tsu-kun isn't here."

The boy was very surprised to hear this. "Did he go with Reborn-san?"

"No, I asked Reborn-kun, but no one has seen him since yesterday afternoon. Do you have any idea where he might have gone? Honestly, that Tsu-kun, making his mother worry like this!"

Naturally, the boy knew what he had to do. "As the right-hand man of Juudaime, I'll go look for him!" And with that he sped off, looking for his precious friend who had gone missing.

"JUUDAIME! WHERE ARE YOU? CAN YOU HEAR ME? JUUDAIME!" He called and called but all he attracted was another boy named Yamamoto Takeshi.

"Haha, what are you doing, Gokudera?"

"I wasn't calling for you, Baseball Freak!"

"Then who were you calling for?" the other boy asked.

"Juudaime, you idiot! He's gone missing!"

"Eh, Tsuna's gone missing?"

"That's what I said you idiot! And don't call Juudaime so familiarly!"

"Haha, then we'll look for Tsuna together."

The boy grew angry. "I don't need your help, you Baseball Freak!" Leaving the bemused other-boy behind, he once again set off to go find his precious friend.

He went to the mountains… "JUUDAIME!"

He went to the ocean… "JUUUDDAAIIIMMMEEE!"

He even dared to trespass into the territory of the fearsome prefect, Hibari Kyoya… ""! WHERE ARE YOU? JUUDAI—"

"What are you doing, herbivore?" Once again, the boy's calls had attracted someone else besides the one he was calling for. This time, it was the fearsome prefect, Hibari Kyoya. "For being disruptive as well as late, I'll bite you to death." With that, the fearsome prefect attacked the boy.

"I don't have time for this, bastard!" But the fearsome prefect didn't listen. The boy had no choice but to continue fighting. "Fine then, if that's the way you're going to be…DOUBLE BO—" His attack was stopped though, by a mysterious force. The fearsome prefect paused from their fight as well. The boy turned and saw…

TO BE CONTINUED!

Any longer, and it'll turn into a chapter of its own… ^^;


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Normal Is Overrated

**Author: **TripOverFlatSurfaces

**Rating: **T

**Summary: **Good, normal days never meant well. Ever. That was basically the logic by which his everyday life functioned.

**Warnings: **Language. No major spoilers.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! as it is the property of Akira Amano.

**Thanks to those who reviewed: **Clams-and-Rainbows

* * *

><p>Tsuna swept his gaze across the room to find Nana, trying to ignore the whispers and stares. When he caught her eye, she gave him a discreet thumbs-up and Tsuna smiled weakly in response. He appreciated the gesture, but the light-headed, nervous feeling that roiled in his belly continued to persist. He had not been in this situation since kindergarten, and that was only a hazy memory. <em>'Can't the teacher just hurry up and get this over with?'<em> The scratchy newness of his uniform's fabric was starting to itch.

"Alright class, we have a new student joining us today," the teacher, Kichida-sensei, announced. "Sawada, introduce yourself."

Tsuna bowed. "I-I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, and I'll be a student in this class from now on. Please take care of me."

"Thank you. You can sit by…" the teacher scrutinized the seating chart, "Ah, here it is. You can sit beside Takahashi Iemitsu." Silence answered the call.

Tsuna blinked. '_Takahashi? Isn't that Nana's family name as well?'_ he thought as the teacher called for the person again.

"Takahashi Iemitsu." Still no one answered. Narrowing her eyes, Kichida-sensei zeroed in on three boys sitting in the back, "Ito, Urakawa, Sarutobi!" she snapped, "Where's Takahashi?" The three shifted uneasily. "Well?"

After some nudging and a bout furious whispering ('You tell her!' 'No, you tell her!'), one finally spoke up. "Dunno, Teach. We," at this the boy looked at his companions for support and they nodded vigorously, "haven't seen 'Mitsu since yesterday afternoon."

Kichida-sensei sighed and her hand reached up to massage her forehead, muttering all the while about unruly students and attendance records. In a long suffering tone, she asked loudly, "Does _anyone_ know where he is?" The students glanced at each other, trading questioning looks and coming up blank. The teacher tsked and turned to give Tsuna with a faintly irritated expression. "As your classmate is currently unable to show you where his seat is… I suppose I'll have to do it. Third row from the door, five seats down, Sawada. And hurry up, we've wasted enough time."

Tsuna blanched at the threatening expression on her face and half-ran, half-tripped his way to his designated seat. Some of the people around him snickered but one glare from Kichida-sensei cowed them. She selected a piece of white chalk and scribbled an equation on the blackboard. "We will be starting with math today." The woman turned to face the class and tapped her chalk on the board.

"Now this equation here is used to―"

"SORRY, I'M LATE!"

The classroom door slid open with a crash, causing Tsuna to jump in his seat. A boy with wild blond hair stood at the door, panting and gasping for breath. The chalk in Kichida-sensei's hand snapped in half. At the sound, the boy looked up and grinned. "Yo, Sensei! I managed to beat my time and get here two minutes earlier―itte!" The rest of the chalk impacted with his forehead and bounced off. "Ow, what was that for?" the boy complained, rubbing at the red spot on his forehead.

"Takahashi Iemitsu…YOU IDIOT!" Kichida-sensei roared. "How dare you just come in here all willy-nilly like nothing's wrong! Who do you think you are?! You'll never graduate at this rate…!" Iemitsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as the rant continued on.

Tsuna stared with wide eyes. _'What just happened…?' _The girl next to him seemed to take pity on him and leaned over. "You're new, so you don't know, but this happens every day. You'll get used to it eventually," she whispered to him. True to her word, no one had reacted to the dramatic entrance, though a few had winced when Kichida-sensei started yelling.

"Every day?" he asked in disbelief. The girl only patted his shoulder sympathetically and returned to watching the scene at the front of the room.

After a good five or so minutes, the teacher finally reined in her temper and simply pointed to the empty seat on Tsuna's other side and told Iemitsu to sit down. She turned back to the board and chose a new piece of chalk. "Now where was I, before _someone_ interrupted me? Oh, yes… Once again, this equation is used to…"

~o~o~o~o~o~

Tsuna slid down his seat in relief as the bell signaling the start of lunch break rang. "Kichida-sensei is really terrifying…"he mumbled to his desk. Looking around, everybody around him had already left; Iemitsu and his friends had run out the moment Kichida-sensei had dismissed the class, and the girl that sat beside him had gone to talk to her friends. He took out the bento that Oeda-san―oops, Obaa-san― had kindly made for him from his bag. He regarded the colorfully patterned cloth. "I guess I should go find Nana-chan?" he asked it, standing up.

He made his way across the room to Nana's desk, which was the one closest to the window. She was by herself and staring intently at something outside and did not notice when he approached. Tsuna craned his head to try to see what had her so interested. "What are you looking at?" Nana turned her head so suddenly that Tsuna barely had time to dodge the braid that would have whipped him across the face.

"Hiiee…"

"Tsuna-kun?" she said. "When did you get here?"

Tsuna sweatdropped. "Just now." He set down his bento on her desk and moved closer to the window to get a better look. "So what were you looking at, Nana-chan?"

Nana blushed lightly. "Ah, well…"

"Hey, isn't that Takahashi Iemitsu?" And it was. The boy and his friends were goofing around outside underneath one of the schoolyard trees. Nana's blush deepened a shade. Tsuna wondered if the room temperature was too hot for her. He certainly felt fine. "Speaking of him, are you two related to each other?"

"Related?"

"Well," Tsuna scratched his cheek, "it's just that both of you have the same family name, so I was curious…" At her blank look, Tsuna waved his hands in front of him frantically, wondering if he had offended her. "But then again, a lot of people can have the same family name if it's common enough!"

Nana's face returned to the expression of good humor that was more familiar to Tsuna since he met her five days ago. Tsuna noticed that her color was back to normal too. "Oh no, we're not related. Just as you said, we only share the same family name." She unwrapped the cloth covering her lunchbox and removed the lid. "Is it okay if we simply eat in the classroom?" She poked at his bento. "Since both our lunches are already here."

Tsuna sat down across from her, taking his bento with him. "Sure, why not?" he said as he started to untie the knot in the cloth. "But wouldn't you rather sit with your friends instead of me?"

Nana stiffened, and then forcibly relaxed herself. She prodded at her food with her chopsticks, determinedly not looking at Tsuna. "I don't really have any."

"Oh," Tsuna said. "That's not true." At Nana's quizzical expression, he elaborated. "We're friends, aren't we? So you have one." He smiled brightly.

"Thank you, Tsuna-kun." Smiling, the two returned to eating and the bell marking the end of break rang soon enough. Class resumed under Kichida-sensei's strict teaching. Excluding a few incidents (in which an eraser was thrown and landed with a _poof_ of chalk dust on a certain blond boy's head―"How dare you sleep in my class! OUT IN THE HALL!"―and the teacher promptly became a demon in human form), school ended with everyone in one piece.

"Stand. Bow. Everyone, dismissed!" The room was filled with chatter as various people made plans for the afternoon or complained about homework. The teacher had long left for the teachers' lounge, and many others were filing out the door. Tsuna double-checked his bag to confirm he hadn't left anything important. '_It wouldn't do any good to start out on the wrong foot as Dame-Tsuna, especially with a teacher as scary Kichida-sensei_.' He shuddered a bit as he thought about the consequences.

"Ready to go?" Nana was already packed and waiting, so Tsuna checked one more time (just to be sure) and hurried after her. The hallway was already empty save for a few stragglers and afterschool clubs, since most of the students had fled as the bell rang. Nana and Tsuna went to their shoe lockers and exchanged the indoor shoes for the outdoor ones. Tsuna's locker squeaked as he closed it.

Nana stretched her arms above her head as they headed outside. "Uwah, finally over!" She turned to Tsuna. "So how did you find your first day?"

"It was alright―HIEEE!" Tsuna crashed into the ground as something hard slammed into his back. Dazed, he stared blurrily at the road. '_Oh, hello,' _he thought, _'I thought I managed to avoid you today.'_ He pushed himself up in time to hear the apology being thrown his way―"Sorry!"―as a familiar blond head raced away. Standing up, Tsuna patted down his uniform and picked up his bag that he had dropped when he fell/was pushed/etc.

"Tsuna-kun! Are you okay?" Nana brushed off some dirt he had missed from his shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just… What was that about?" He asked as he turned to look at the disappearing back of his classmate, trying to flatten down his hair that had only gotten more mussed with his fall.

Nana pursed her lips. "No idea…"

~o~o~o~o~o~

Iemitsu lingered in front of the apartment door, bouncing on the balls of his feet, and wondered if he should reach for the key in his pocket or not. In the end, he decided not to and simply turned the door handle. As he had come to expect, it turned easily enough and he quickly stepped inside. He toed off his shoes, automatically leaning down to straighten them. He dropped his bag on the kitchen table and walked into the living room.

"I'm home." It was dark and as he clicked on the lights, the first that hit his senses was the acrid smell of alcohol. Three cheap wine bottles littered the space in front of the couch and the fourth was being clutched by his mother as she half-sat, half-lay on the cushions.

She smiled brilliantly at him. "Welcome home! My darling boy…" She stood to greet him and swayed precariously on her feet. Iemitsu rushed to steady her and guided her back to the couch, all while gently easing the bottle out of her hands. She protested weakly, as she always did, but allowed him to set it on the coffee table out of her reach.

"Okaa-san, I think you've had enough for today."

"You think so?" His mother giggled drunkenly. She reached up and looped her arms around his neck to pull him down to sit beside her. "My darling, darling boy, how was school? Was today a very bad day?" she asked as she smoothed a thumb over the furrow in his brow. Iemitsu immediately smoothed out his expression and gave her a smile.

"Actually, I managed to get there two minutes earlier than yesterday! Sensei only yelled half as long as she usually did." He cheerfully recounted the day's events to her. "Oh, and we got a new kid today. Sawada-something-or-other, I think."

"Sawada?" His mother tapped a painted nail against her lip. "That's my maiden name you know.

"Eh, really?" Iemitsu's eyebrows shot up.

"Yep, Sawada. Takahashi Miyako, neé Sawada." She giggled again, nearly falling over before Iemitsu pulled her back. "What a coincidence!"

He laughed with her. "Ha, what are the chances?"

Still giggling, his mother leaned against his shoulder, strands of hair falling across her face. "I'm tired now," she told him. Iemitsu stood and gallantly offered her his hand, even making a mock bow. She accepted his hand and laughed so much as he pulled her up that tears came to her eyes. He led her to her bedroom and made her drink a glass of water before helping her crawl into bed. She closed her eyes. With her long blond hair, which he had inherited as she liked to tell him often, spread across the pillow, Iemitsu was reminded, not for the first time, of the angels he had seen in a painting once.

Thinking his mother had fallen asleep, Iemitsu crept towards the door. "Iemitsu." Hearing his mother's voice, he paused in the doorway. "If your father calls, you'll let me know, won't you? I've been waiting all day." She sounded petulant. "He said he would. He promised last time."

Iemitsu stretched his lips into another smile, even though his back was turned and his mother could not see. It had become a habit anyway. "Don't worry," he chirped, "I will." He eased the door closed behind him and strode back to the front door, throwing a glare at the telephone as he went past. It was useless, but he hoped that bastard could feel it.

"As if he'd call," he grumbled and jammed his feet back into his shoes. He opened the front door and went outside, making sure to lock it this time. Shaking his head to clear away the bad thoughts, Iemitsu stretched in a way reminiscent of a lazy cat and sighed in relief as joints popped. He had a part-time job to get to.

* * *

><p>Whoosh! I hope your necks are okay, but even I didn't expect that big of a mood whiplash. Whew. My tendency for angst is starting to slither its way in. Sneaky little bugger. I suppose the next mood whiplash would be the omake? It will end in this chapter as I'm already getting bored of it. :D Please review!<p>

OMAKE START!

Last time:

_The boy had no choice but to continue fighting. "Fine then, if that's the way you're going to be…DOUBLE BO—" His attack was stopped though, by a mysterious force. The fearsome prefect paused from their fight as well. The boy turned and saw…_

…the tiny―excuse me, I misspoke―the greatest hitman in the world, Reborn!

"R-Reborn-san!"

"Hmph." Dissatisfied that the fight came to an end, the fearsome prefect left to go hunt other prey.

"Ciaossu."

The boy bowed with extreme respect ("TO THE EXTREME!" a boxer named Ryohei shouted somewhere off in the distance). Perhaps the greatest hitman in the world would know where his beloved friend was? "Reborn-san! Is Juudaime with you?"

The greatest hitman in the world cocked his gun. "That useless student of mine was hit by the Ten-Year Bazooka."

The boy was shocked. "The Ten-Year Bazooka? Does that mean Juudaime is stuck in the future again?"

The hitman pouted. "No, the stupid cow spilled juice on it so the bazooka malfunctioned. We don't know where Dame-Tsuna could be."

At this, the boy's face darkened and lightning flashed ominously in the background. "That stupid cow did…? That's it." He drew out his bombs. "I'll kill him."

And so the stupid cow Lambo was once again vanquished from the peaceful town of Namimori. The boy's beloved friend, however, did not come back until the story properly ended.

THE END.

(I love Lambo, I promise that I do…!)


End file.
